Let me state up front that I'm not upset the Obamas didn't adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue group. It would have been wonderful if they did, but because I love dogs so much, I'm grateful they brought one into their home and perhaps encouraged others to do the same thing.
On the other hand, I can see how a rescue would have done so much to ease the overcrowding at shelters around the country. If the First Family had found their dog at a shelter rather than a kennel, it might have provoked a significant interest in rescuing. Too many dogs need homes.
So maybe it's understandable that so many were upset when the Obamas adopted Bo, the Portuguese Water Dog puppy who will be formally introduced to the country on Tuesday. He isn't a mutt and isn't from a shelter. But he's darn cute.
He didn't work well with his first family, so the kennel essentially is re-homing him. That doesn't make him a rescue, but he clearly was in need of a loving family.
Here's what Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, told the Christian Science Monitor: "Clearly our best hope was that (President Obama) would go to a shelter or a breed-rescue group. He didn't do that, but he also didn't go to a pet store or puppy mill either. It's a gray area."
But Abbie Moore of Adopt-a-Pet.com considered it a missed opportunity. "If Obama had adopted a pet from a shelter, it could have been the turning point for the pet-overpopulation problem in this country," she said. "With pet relinquishment up 20 to 30 percent due to the poor economy, pets in shelters can use all the help they can get."
What do you think? Should the First Family have rescued a dog?
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